US430878A - Fruit-packing case - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

R. J. PATTERSON.

FRUIT PACKING CASE. No. 430,878. Patented June 24, 1890.

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UNITED STATES PATENT FFlCE.

RALPH .I. PATTERSON, OF DOCTOR TOIVN, GEORGIA.

FRUIT-PACKING CASE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 430,878, dated June 24, 1890.

Application filed March 11, 1890- Serial No. 343,464. (No model) To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RALPH J. PATTERSON, a citizen. of the United States, residing at Dector Town, in the county of IVayne and State of Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Fruit-Packing Gases;

.and I do declare the following to be a full,

clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in packing cases or 01 ates, and while it is designed more particularly for that class employed in packing oranges and other like perishable fruits for trans 'mrtation, yet I do not wish to be confined to the adoption of the invention for such purposes alone, as it may be found equally as well fitted for other uses.

The invention has for its object, among others, to simplify and cheapen the construction, to render it better fitted for the purposes for which it is intended, and at the same time to render fully as durable this class of devices. I employ a center to the heads which is thinner than the surrounding portions, said thinner portion being reticulated or perforated, if desired, for providing ventilation, and, on account of its thinness, being yielding, so as not to injure the fruit.

Other objects and advantages of theinvention will hereinafter appear, and the novel features thereof will be specifically defined by the appended claims.

The novelty resides in the peculiar eon1binations and the construction, arrangement, and adaptation of parts, all as more fully hereinafter described, shown in the drawings, and then particularly pointed out in the claims.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which, with the letters of reference marked thereon, form a part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a fruit package or case constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a top plan of the same. Fig. 3 is aperspective view of the head of the case detached and the several parts composing the same separated, but in their relative positions. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a slightly-modified form of head, showing the head complete. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the several parts of thehead of Fig. 4 detached.

Referring now to the details of the drawings by letter, A designates the body of a packing-case, which is preferably cylindrical, or substantially so, in form, as shown. The body may be formed. of slats or staves, arranged so as to leave spaces therebetween to forma ventilating-case; or the slats or staves may be arranged as shown in Fig. 4., top planthat is, with one edge tapered, as shown .at (l,

and the other edge arranged to overlap the tapered edge of the adjacent stave, as shown in said Fig. at. The case may be bulged or have straight sides, as preferred.

The staves K, formingthe sides of the case, are of thin material and of any desired number, although I preferably employ five, all but one being nailed at their ends to the outer edges of the heads of thecase and more securely held in position by the hoops or bands I. The remaining stave J is not secured to the case until after the latter has been filled,when it is nailed in place through the hoops I, as shown in Fig. l of the drawings, thus permitting of the ready inspection of the contents of the case by simply removing the hoop and the stave J, which may be done without in any manner injuring the case or bruising the fruittherein contained.

The head B of the packing-case consists of the five pieces or parts shown. The parts 0 are made of ordinary boards-say seveneighths stuff-and in substantially the form shown, viz: Each of the said parts C has one of its longitudinal edges 0 cut straight, while its opposite edge is out upon an arc of a circle of a diameter corresponding with the diameter of the circle formed by the completed head of the packing-case to which itis to be applied, the said are measuring a little more than one-fourth of the circumference of the circle. The said partsO are joined, preferably, at their connecting ends by mortiseand-tenon or tongue-and-groove joints, as shown at D and E, and along their inner edges they are formed with a groove or recess F for the reception of the substantially square centerpiece G, which central piece is made of thin wood-such as veneer or board, sawed thin. This central piece may or may not be provided with suitable holes II for the purpose of ventilation. The recess or groove F may be upon one or both sides of the pieces C, as preferred; but When upon both sides it provides for the use of the head either side up, or for two center pieces G, as will be readily understood. This center piece may be secured in place in any suitable manner,

. the groove or recess forming a shoulder for its support.

Instead of forming the pieces 0 with tongue-and-groove or mortise-and-tenon connections, as above described,they may be connected by means of rabbet-joints, as shown in Fig. 5' at Z), and, in fact, this latter construction may sometimes be found preferable and Will be more easily made and perhaps stronger and less liable to break. In this form the central piece G will be provided with cleats 0, adapted to be secured to the pieces 0 in any suitable manner.

Instead of forming the rabbcts upon diago-' nally-opposite corners, they may be formed upon opposite corners. as indicated by dotted lines in the top plan, Fig. 4.

A head for fruit-packing cases made in accordance with my invention, as above disclosed, will be found to be .fully as substantial and serviceable as a head, the entire surface of which is made of a material of equal thickness throughout, or as the same thickness as the parts C, as the outer edge presents a thick and substantial surface, to which the staves or sides of the case and the hoops may be nailed. The several parts of which the head is composed may be made from small pieces of boards, which would otherwise be worthless, while the thin section in the center of the head, being of thin material, will be less expensive, and, being more elastic or yielding, will not be as likely to inj ure the fruit by contact as would a thick and unyielding head, and it will at once be apparent that the use of a head such as I have above described provides a more perfect ventilation and permits of access to the contents of the case without removing the hoops or disturbing the parts 0 of the head.

Of course when the sectional head is employed the feature of the detachable stave J need not be present.

The lap-stave case may have only two heads. The head, with the groove 0r recess upon each side, maybe employed in cases for a mid-head, the thin pieces on each side serving to protect fruit from edges that would otherwise cut it.

WVhat I claim as new is 1. A head for packing-cases, composed of a plurality of sections having their outer edges formed upon the arc of a circle and at their ends with oppositely-formed rabbets, means for securing the overlapped rabbeted ends together, and a rectangular central portion having cleats c facing the same and secured to the outer sections, substantially as shown and described.

2. The herein-described improved fruitpacking case, the same comprising, in combination, two or more heads B, each composed of a series of sections the outer edges of which are formed upon the arc of a circle and united at their ends by tongue-and-groove connections, a central portion of thinner material than the said sections 0 and held in place within a groove formed in the inner edges of the sections 0, the staves K, secured at their ends to the outer edges of the sections 0 of the heads, the hoops I, and the removable stave J, secured in place upon the inside of the hoops, substantially as shown and described, and for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

RALPH J. PATTERSON.

l'Vitnesses:

J. S. LEE, H. W. WHALEY.

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